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By CHAT News Staff

Albertans overpaid $24B in electricity bills since 2001 deregulation, study finds

Oct 28, 2024 | 12:06 PM

Albertans have overpaid $24 billion in electricity bills since the province deregulated the power generation industry in 2001, the Federation of Labour says.

That claim is based on a report by regulatory economist Edgardo Sepulveda that will be released by the federation on Tuesday.

The billions in extra costs are compared to if Albertans paid the same price as other Canadians for the last 23 years.

Federation president Gil McGowan said in a statement Monday that rules are needed to tame high consumer electricity prices.

“Affordability is a worker issue – and one of the most obvious and effective ways to bring down costs for working Albertans is to re-regulate power generation,” McGowan said.

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“Deregulation is an ideological experiment that has failed and cost us billions.”

McGowan is expected to speak to the results and methodology on Tuesday.

Medicine Hat residents pay a rate set by the city’s energy business.

Council directed the city to use a single best-of-market rate for residential, farm, small and medium commercial, unmetered services and rental lighting customers that would not exceed 11 cents per kilowatt hour or dip below a minimum rate of seven cents.

The best-of-market rate, launched in November, was put in place as a stopgap measure in response to a dramatic rise in electricity costs in 2023.

Medicine Hat has hit that lowest-allowed seven cents mark three months in a row, from August to October.